Anybody feel scammed by RockAuto?

[SkagitBoy]

I’m wondering if anybody has the same problem when ordering from RockAuto.com. I’m writing specifically about their multiple warehouses and shipping fees.
I don’t want to pay their ridiculous shipping charges from multiple warehouses. They turn a good deal into an average deal. Every time I place an order, I try to pick items from the same warehouse using their little truck symbol. But when I go to my cart (where it actually shows which warehouse each item will ship from) it lists 2 or more different warehouses. So then I remove from my cart every part not from warehouse A (for example) and a couple that are listed from warehouse A. Then I continue shopping and add back to my cart an item from warehouse A. Then I return to my cart and now that item shows it will come from warehouse B. Then I remove that item from my cart so I’m left again with only warehouse A items again. Then I return to shop and find a different item from the same warehouse and add it to my cart, only to find that now one of my original items are going to ship from warehouse D! It goes on like this every time I order. Are they supplementing their low prices with padded shipping charges? It feels shady to me. Or... what am I doing wrong?

 

[Dirtman]

Personally I blame Obama...

.

 

[fastpakr]

I've experienced that, but to be honest I think it's a lot more likely to be a system that works poorly than someone intentionally screwing you in this case. Consider the work involved to make a couple of dollars on shipping, only to frustrate customers no end. It's just a bad design.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Meanwhile an order from Amazon costs about the same overall but it has FREE FREIGHT!!

It bugs me too but... I was pricing a fuel pump last week. Amazon was only $2 cheaper with much longer ship time (and it seems like Amazon car parts are always hanging out of the box by the time I get them too)

 

[Uncle Gump]

I don't shop RockAuto for two reasons... their entire website is just terrible... also the way their shipping works. Which always seems to find a way to work in their favor and charge shipping from two or three warehouses.

 

[sgtsandman]

I haven't felt scammed by them. It could be that I've been lucky too.

 

[97RangerXLT]

I have noticed this too, and it bugs me... here is my hypothesis...(take it as you will, I am not claiming it to be 100 percent right) the shipping algorithm I think works by package size and weight... so as you add to your cart, the package size will change so that some parts may come from another warehouse to fit in with parts that are not at the original warehouse.

One thing that I have done over the last year or so is everything that I get in my cart from Rockauto, I go find the corresponding part at Amazon. once I have the 5 percent discount applied and all the shipping applied I compare the prices. only *once* has Amazon beat Rockauto.. and it was by a few dollars only and it would take them 2 to 3 weeks to get the parts to me. so thus far even with the weird shipping changes, Rockauto has been the best bet.

sometning that I have also done... usually when I order parts from a project I take a look at what else I might need in the future, and if those parts mess up the shipping, they get removed from the cart or if there is just one part that is causing the issue, I see what it would cost at a local store and if it is cheaper that way, I will remove that part and source it locally.

@Uncle Gump, yeah, their website is a bit clunky...

AJ

 

[Grumpaw]

Never have used them. Have almost always been able to find what was needed either on Amazon or e-bay, or speciality shop if needed. Their prices are cheap, on the cheap imported stuff. But on name brand parts they seem to be selling for what other on line retailers sell for, and with the fact you have to pay shipping===no great deals.
But, they do carry a lot of parts for older vehicles so you may be limited to them and their shipping costs.

 

[pjtoledo]

works OK for me. they do tell you the shipping before the order is placed.

 

[RobbieD]

RockAuto used to rock for the best prices on parts. But in the last year or so the higher shipping costs, and shipping from multiple warehouses (with multiple shipping charges) has changed that. I don't know if it's just changes in the business landscape, or corporate greed (which has ruined a lot of the good old parts makers). Things change, I guess.

I always comparison shop. When Rock started to not be the best deal, as they used to be, it made me start giving my business to the local parts store, which has actually worked out real good.

 

[sgtsandman]

You think Rock Auto is clunky, try finding parts on a Honda Parts web site. They chuck parts listings under things that make no sense.

 

[pjtoledo]

Ford is doing that too. if you don't know their special name for something it's hard to find.

 

[sgtsandman]

I go to Tasca first because of it and get the part number so I can comparison shop without too much hassle. Ford's way of doing things is REALLY clunky. Not hard but you have to do a LOT of scrolling to find what you want. Honda is kinda like fuel pump listed under lower tailgate. Not quite that ridiculous but not far from it.

 

[bilbo]

I have noticed this too. I take great care to make sure to pick the parts with the little van by them; it shows one shipping location until I go to check out and suddenly there are two or more. I would agree it’s an algorithm or something. I doubt it’s intentional. So I emailed them this question and someone called me a few hours later. He said it is likely due to their shipping algorithm deciding that it's less expensive to split the shipment and ship from two warehouses, for example if a part can be shipped for less from a warehouse closer to the orderer rather than lumped in with the other parts and sent from the further warehouse. He said next time it happens to send a screenshot so they can look into it. He seemed genuinely interested in seeing if there's a flaw somewhere and correcting it.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Had to have my lawyer threaten them last week. They owe my company $387 for a return we made. That was two months ago.

They openly called me a liar over a email, even though FedEx handed them the GPS info that showed it going from my door to theirs.

Not happy with them at all.